Conventional motor vehicles incorporate foot controls, a typical motor vehicle with an automatic gearbox having accelerator and brake pedals. To permit operation by disabled persons having restricted or no use of their legs, such vehicles may be fitted with hand controls which permit hand operation of the accelerator and brake pedals.
Only a small number of specially adapted cars have been produced for disabled drivers, the majority of drivers using conventional vehicles which have been fitted with hand controls as described above.
The majority of hand controls which have been considered previously utilize systems of levers and push rods of varying complexity, and the below-listed patents include descriptions of various different hand controls of this form:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,855,797 to Dunn, Jr. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,777,335 to Engberg et al PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,373,628 to Lake et al PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,442,149 to Schwendenmann PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,472,094 to Lake et al PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,424,723 to Gockel PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,438,835 to Dowden, deceased et al PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,788,879 to Ulrich PA1 Canadian Patent No. 1,005,731 to T. Mitro PA1 European Patent Application 0 069 090 to G. Venturini PA1 U.K. Patent No. 1,539,880 to E. Aston PA1 German Offenlegungsschrift No. 1,480,333 to Turner.
In all but the Ulrich patent, in which it appears that the operator of the apparatus must support the weight of the apparatus, the devices are rigidly attached to the vehicle structure. In Schwendenmann the control is fixed to the vehicle firewall and in Dowden the control is bolted to the vehicle floor. In the other documents, the disclosed controls are attached to the vehicle's steering column. In the lever-operated controls, as disclosed by Engberg, Dunn, Gockel and Mitro, the rigid mounting to the steering column is required as, in all cases, the control lever, which operates one or more of the pedals of the vehicle, pivots about a fulcrum provided on the steering column mounting. Various mounting methods are disclosed, including the use of hose clamps in Engberg, U-bolts in Dunn and a bracket which is screwed to the steering column in Mitro.
While such methods of mounting a control may be acceptable for controls which are to be used over an extended period, they would be unacceptable for short term or temporary use as permanent modification of the vehicle would likely be required. Most modern vehicles include mouldings around the steering column accommodating the steering lock, switch gear and wiring and the mouldings would likely require extensive and expensive modification to permit the provision of a secure mounting, as described in the above-mentioned patents.